Last night at the City of Milwaukee's 163rd birthday party at Discovery World, Milwaukee resident Roy Henning won the Milwaukee Press Club's contest to name commemorative bottles of Milwaukee water.
His name, Brew City Blue, came with the throwback slogan of "the water that made the beer that made Milwaukee famous." "His" water was bottled and distributed to the hundreds of guests at last night's party.
Henning was recognized for his efforts last night, and this morning took a few moments to talk to us about his winning water.
OnMilwaukee.com: How did you find out about the contest?
Roy Henning: I heard about the contest during my daily reading of OnMilwaukee.com.
OMC: Where did the idea for the name and slogan come from? And, you didn't design the bottle, right? Just the concept?
RH: To be perfectly honest, I came up with both the name and the slogan in about two minutes while I was working ... don't tell my boss.
I always use "Brew City" as a login name and "Blue" ... well I guess that just makes sense. The slogan kind of just popped into my head and after I submitted it, I realized I sort of ripped off Schlitz.
I actually spoke with the person in charge of the contest last night and she said they had to send a letter to Schlitz to authorize the partial use of their slogan. I didn't design the bottle or the artwork, just the concept.
OMC: Was that your first Milwaukee birthday party? What did you think about it?
RH: This was my first Milwaukee birthday party and I was very impressed with everything. Our city really seems to be moving in the right direction. Bartolotta's had amazing food and Jim McCabe did a great job providing Milwaukee brewed beer from the Milwaukee Brewing Company and The Ale House.
I was also very impressed with Discovery World. I had never been inside before and would recommend to everyone to check it out. The view from the third floor hall (Pilot House) where the party was held was absolutely amazing; downtown to the north, the Summerfest grounds and the Hoan Bridge to the south and Lake Michigan to the east.
OMC: What did you win?
RH: I won $100 gift card from the Bartolotta Restaurant Group and all the City of Milwaukee water I can drink!
OMC: Any thoughts on Milwaukee's water future and opportunities?
RH: I didn't really attend the birthday party last night thinking I was going to learn something but I was amazed that Milwaukee has become a leader in water filtration systems in both design and manufacturing.
I've been reading a lot of national articles lately about water shortages throughout the country. Many states are now looking at the Great Lakes as a resource to be tapped into, and that is why this freshwater promotion concept Milwaukee has adopted is so important.
The Great Lakes are a precious natural resource that needs to be protected at all costs; and as residents of Milwaukee and the surrounding areas we need to be more conscious of conserving what we have.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
